


Teenage Wasteland

by winterfiire



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Gay Will Byers, Hurt, M/M, Sad Will Byers, Sort Of, Will needs a break, byler, el is honestly just confused, i still love him though, mikes kind of a dick in this, sorry for this, sorry this sucks, ur still a kid shut up mike, will just really misses mike
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-06
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2020-01-05 18:26:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18371627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winterfiire/pseuds/winterfiire
Summary: “All at once, the walls had come tumbling down. As if on cue, the rain began to pick up, soaking the two boys who stood in deafening silence. Moments that felt like years passed before either boy dared to move, holding an intense stare that held all the words the two were afraid to say.”a.k.a how i see the “we’re not kids anymore” scene going





	Teenage Wasteland

Thunder rumbled, almost as if to the beat of Will’s pounding hand on the Wheeler’s front door. Shivering as the wind began to pick up, Will anxiously pounded against the door once again.  _ Why are you so nervous, _ He thought to himself,  _ It’s only Mike.  _ But deep in his gut, Will knew that wasn’t true. At some point, things with Mike had… shifted. 

 

He wasn’t sure when exactly, but somewhere in the time since Will’s return from The Upside Down, Mike had gone from being Just Mike, to  _ Mike. _ This  _ Mike _ began filling his stomach with butterflies, causing blush to spread across his cheeks any time he laid a hand on Will. Though he’s unsure when exactly this shift came into play, Will realized it the night of the snowball, eight months prior. A girl, a cute girl, had asked Will to dance with her, as unbelievable as it sounds. But, instead of enjoying his time, all he could focus on was Mike, who was dancing a little ways away from him with Eleven. As he leaned in to kiss El, Will felt his stomach sink. That feeling stayed with him, as he lay in his bed later that night, only a single thought in his mind:  _ How would Mike’s lips feel on my own? _ Ever since that night, Will had become hyper aware of everything surrounding Mike; how close they stood, his tone of voice when they spoke, prolonged eye contact, etc.

 

Will was so wrapped in his own thoughts of Mike, he didn’t even notice said boy standing right in front of him. “Will? What’re you doing here?”

 

“Hey!” Will cringed at the enthusiasm in his voice, “I thought maybe we could hang out… I-I miss you.” The words poured out of his mouth before he could so much as stop himself.

 

Mike chucked dryly in response, “Miss me? You see me practically every day.” 

 

He didn’t understand.  _ Of course he doesn’t,  _ Will thought,  _ he doesn’t miss you the way you miss him. _

 

“Y-Yeah, I know,” Will ducked his eyes down low, avoiding Mike’s gaze. “It was stupid, I’m sorry.” 

 

Mike’s face softened as he saw the discomfort leaking out of the smaller boy in front of him. “No, no it’s not stupid. I understand what you mean, things have just been different, with everything going on and-”

 

“Mike?” 

 

Both pairs of eyes standing in the Wheeler’s doorway flew to a pair of feet pounding down the staircase. Eleven stopped as she saw Will, confused but still smiling. “Oh, hi Will. What’re you doing here?”

 

Will tried to hide the annoyance he felt bubble up in his chest. Of course Mike was with her. When he wasn’t with the rest of the party then he was just alone with El, never making time for anyone else.  _ It’s his girlfriend, of course he’d rather spend time with her _ . Will feared that he was losing Mike more and more as the days went on. And that thought alone scared him more than anything. 

 

“Will? Are you okay?” Will realized he’d taken too long to answer as Eleven looked at him with soft, cautious eyes. 

 

“I-Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay. Sorry for interrupting.” Raindrops fell softly as Will made a straight line for his bike. Reaching for his handles, Will felt a pull at his arm and whipped around to meet soft brown eyes. 

 

“Will, you can try and fool El, but you can’t fool me. What’s going on with you? I know you’re not okay.” Mike’s voice was kind and gentle, slowly chipping away at the walls Will had been building up around himself. 

 

The truth spilled out like vomit before Will could compose a clever lie, “I miss the way things were before Eleven. What ever happened to D&D campaigns? Sleepovers where we made ourselves sick on candy and pizza? Trips to play whatever new game is at the arcade?  All you care about now is her, and I’m sick of it. Sick of waiting around for you to ask me to hang out, sick of having to tag along like a third wheel, sick of you cancelling to be with her instead. I know she’s your girlfriend but what about me? I’m sick of having to just wait around while you slip away from me.” 

 

Mike’s face transformed into something Will couldn’t recognize as he regretted every single thing he just said.  _ I shouldn’t have said anything. I shouldn’t have said anything. I shouldn’t ha- _

 

“We’re not kids anymore,” Mike’s cool voice ripped Will away from his thoughts of remorse. His tone had remained calm, however there was something else in it.  _ Defense? Annoyance? _ “I mean, what did you think? We were just gonna sit in my basement all day? Play games for the rest of our lives? C’mon, Will. You need to grow up.”

 

Anger flushed through Will’s body.  _ Grow up? Grow up?! I’ve had the past two and half years of my life ripped away from me, forcibly dragged out of my childhood and into this nightmare. I lost my innocence at age 12, being forced to leave my childhood behind the second I was taken into the Upside Down. So you have no right to tell me to grow up when at least you got to live through the last of your childhood. If any of us has grown up, it’s me. _

 

Only, Will didn’t think that. He spat those words and they hit Mike like a slap in the face. All at once, the walls had come tumbling down. As if on cue, the rain began to pick up, soaking the two boys who stood in deafening silence. Moments that felt like years passed before either boy dared to move, holding an intense stare that held all the words the two were afraid to say. Mike closed his eyes and took a deep breath, stepping toward the shattered boy in front of him. He spoke first, breaking the silence that trapped the two, “Will.. I-”

 

With that, Will broke. Sobs wracking his body, he pushed himself away on his bike, willing himself to be anywhere else. He ignored Mike’s screams, calling his name until eventually he just became a muffled voice in the distance and Will  heard nothing but rain hitting pavement and his own cries. Will stayed like that until he reached Castle Byers. Throwing his bike down, he ran inside and let the last hour wash over him entirely. It felt as though someone had pushed their hand into his chest and squeezed his heart until there was nothing left. 

 

All the hurt Will had felt and pushed aside over the past few months came to a head. Falling onto the bed below him, his eye caught on old photos, the happiness of their memories causing a sharp pang in his chest.  _ The party, smiling widely as they hold up their science fair trophy _ . He had made a homemade frame to hold that picture, messy handwriting reading each of their names scrawled across one of the four sticks holding the makeshift frame together.  _ Halloween, the four of them dressed as Ghostbusters, ridiculous grins as they held up their proton blasters toward the camera _ . Will reached out and brought the picture closer to him. The memory of that day, more recent than the other, washed over him. Following his return from the Upside Down, Will had become a ghost of his former self. That day was the first time he felt genuinely happy and like himself again.  _ Like a kid,  _ he thought. A mixture of tears and rain fell onto the smiling boys below him. 

 

**_We’re not kids anymore_ ** **.**

 

**Author's Note:**

> sorry this was so angsty oops my b  
> but thank u so much if u read this!!  
> feel free to leave any kudos and comments down below :~)


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